In a conventional bait cast fishing reel, line carrying spool is rotatable by an external crank handle. A thumb button is depressed to cast or pay out line. The thumb button disengages the spool from a crank handle while allowing the spool to freely rotate as line pays out of the spool.
In prior art mechanisms, a movable slider is manipulated by an external thumb button. The slider may be positioned in either a first or retrieve position or the slider may be positioned in a second or cast position. As the slider is repositioned from the first position into the second position, the slider moves a yoke axially relative to the line carrying spool. As the yoke is moved, a pinion gear, which normally transmits a torque from a crank shaft to the line carrying spool, is disengaged. Simultaneously, a kick lever, which is pivotably connected to the slider, is repositioned so that the kick lever is engaged with teeth on a ratchet element that is associated with the crank shaft. An overcenter spring biases the kick lever into engagement with the ratchet teeth and thereby prevents reverse rotation of the crank shaft. Forward rotation of the crank shaft repositions the kick lever such that an overcenter spring associated therewith drives the kick lever and the slider on which it is mounted, to cause the slider to move from the second or cast position back to the first or retrieve position.
In prior art devices, the kick lever connects to the slider through a pin and conforming slot arrangement. Upon depression of the thumb button, the kick lever engages teeth of a ratchet element if the kick lever is received between adjacent teeth, then the reel will be changed to the cast state without any problem. However, in the event that the kick lever aligns with one of the ratchet teeth in transition between the retrieve and cast states, the kick lever will be prohibited from moving through its full range. In this case, the kick lever will block movement of the slider into the second position, thereby preventing full disengagement of the pinion gear and latching of the mechanism, which will maintain the reel in a cast state. One problem with prior art devices is that forces on the kick lever upon engagement with the ratchet element may cause the kick lever to bend out of contact with ratchet teeth, i.e., the kick lever may tilt outwardly and not be able to perform its function of preventing rotation of the crank shaft.
Heretofore, this problem has been dealt with by simply turning the crank handle after jamming occurs. The crank handle is turned sufficiently such that the projection on the kick lever can move between the teeth. This is an inconvenience to the user. Further, a user that does not recognize that a slight turning of the crank handle can alleviate the jamming problem may be inclined to exert a large force on the thumb button, thereby stressing the parts of the reel mechanism and potentially causing reel failure.